FOI release
Fires involving vape shops and e-cigarette retailers, especially in listed buildings
Case reference FOI2026/00629
Received 2 June 2026
Published 16 July 2026
Request
Please treat this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, addressed to the London Fire Brigade. I am seeking information relating to fires involving vape shops, e-cigarette retailers, specialist vaping retailers, and fires involving vaping products and associated lithium-ion batteries within the Greater London area. For each calendar year from 2020 to the most recent year available, please provide: 1. The number of fire incidents recorded by the London Fire Brigade at premises classified as: o Vape shops; o Electronic cigarette retailers; o Specialist vaping retailers; or o Any other retail premises category where the primary business activity involves the sale of vaping products. 2. Of the incidents identified in Question 1, please provide: o The number of fire incidents; o The recorded cause of fire (where available); o Whether lithium-ion batteries were recorded as the cause of, or a contributing factor to, the fire; o Whether vaping devices, e-cigarettes, vape batteries, charging equipment, or related products were recorded as involved in the fire. 3. Any incidents within your dataset where the premises description, classification, incident narrative, or other recorded information indicates: o A vape shop; o Electronic cigarette retailer; o Specialist vaping retailer; or o Retailer primarily selling vaping products. 4. Of the incidents identified in Questions 1–3, please provide: o Whether the premises was a listed building; o If so, the grade or category of listing (e.g. Grade I, Grade II*, Grade II); o Whether the fire resulted in substantial structural damage, partial collapse, or total loss of the building. 5. Where recorded, please provide for the incidents identified in Questions 1–4: o Number of casualties; o Number of injuries; o Number of fatalities; and o Any recorded estimate of property damage. 6. Please confirm what classification fields, incident codes, keywords, or search terms are used in your incident recording system to identify: o Retail premises; o Vape shops, e-cigarette retailers, or specialist vaping retailers; o Listed buildings; and o Lithium-ion battery involvement in fires. 7. Please provide copies of any reports, guidance, risk assessments, briefing papers, or other documents produced since 1 January 2020 concerning: o Fire risks associated with vape shops or e-cigarette retailers; o The storage, charging, or sale of vaping products; o Lithium-ion battery fire risks in retail premises; or o Fires involving listed buildings where lithium-ion batteries or vaping products were involved. If the information requested is not held centrally or cannot be extracted without exceeding the cost limit, please provide advice and assistance under Section 16 of the Act to help refine the request. I would prefer the information in electronic format.
Response
Please see the response in the attached link below.
Documents
This is London Fire Brigade's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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